Abner (1867-1953) is our great grandfather; Hill Farmstead Brewery rests upon the land that was once home to him and his fourteen children. In his honor, this Double IPA is dutifully crafted from American malted barley, a plethora of American hops, our ale yeast and water from Abner’s well. It is unfiltered, naturally carbonated, and double dry hopped. Aromatic and flowery, bursting with notes of citrus and pine, this is the ale that I dream to have shared with Abner.

On Tap at the Black Back in Waterbury VT.Pours a cloudy lemony amber color with a thinnish white head that seems to dissipate quickly. Smells like hops, no really it does :) Earthy spicy hops abound with that spicy oniony flair to them. Little if any malt evident in the aroma, but I'm sure they did indeed use some malts in this beer. Taste is Bitter pine and earthy. Hints of caramel malt are there for a nano second but this one is all about the hops. Finishes rather dry with a long lingering spicy bitterness. Moderate carbonation, medium thin body with a resinous tart mouthfeel. I enjoyed this one, but it wasn't my favorite of the night. One curiosity is that all of the Hill beers I had were very cloudy, not sure if that is the way they are supposed to be or if we had trouble pouring.

Thanks to Sean(?) for supplying this growler. Served in a Heady Topper glass.

A - Pours with a few fingers of off-white foam that settle to a thin cap, leaving behind spotty lace. Hazy peach juice body.

S - This is more lemony and herbal than Edward was, with some light estery alcohol peeking through. Also some obvious citrus fruit goodness in there. Still, there's a perceivable relationship between the two (malt bill? yeast strain?). It's also much more hop-foward than I remember - perhaps the recipe has been tweaked since the summer, or perhaps this is just a fresh sample.

T - Taste is more orange and tropical fruits, with sufficient malt heft and a pleasant sugar cookie character to it. No obvious alcohol in the flavor. Bitterness is well-attenuated.

D - Fairly sessionable for an Imperial IPA. I liked this much better than the version I had on-tap at American Flatbread in Burlington, which tasted like Dogfish 90 Minute (which I also enjoy, but only when super-fresh). I'd certainly have this again, but I prefer Edward.

A: Bright golden color, slightly hazy, pours with 2 fingers of white frothy head that reduces slowly and leaves great lacing. S: Dominated by the grapefruit, mango, citrusy blend. Not much malt to speak of in the aroma. I like. T: Very sweet, has a lot of the citrus characteristics present in the aroma that pop in the flavor. I do have to say, having had Harlan last night, I prefer the flavor profile of Harlan to Abner, as it has a more balanced profile all around. M: Carbed well, fairly dry. Surprisingly bitter. O: Solid offering by HF, definitely a beer I'd love to get again. The aroma and flavor leaned strongly towards the fruity/citrusy side.

Pours a hazy light orange color with almost no head but a few small bubbles, nose is a bit muted for some reason - pine, a bit of mango and Pineapple. But that is where the muted characteristics end...

Taste is a huge punch in the mouth! Very bitter, sharp pine and citrus with just such a bitter bite on the end it's really delicious. Mouthfeel is full and creamy, really good beer.

App- A very peachy looking orangey haze. A very dense centered DIPA with a very large two finger white head. A very puffy and whipped cream looking head. A big amount of cling and lace down the sides of the glass

Smell- Its a very hoppy and aromatic beer A bit of a nice mix. It's creamy and a bit honey forward. A bit of a sweet cream aroma. A bit of a full citrus. More along the lines of Pineapple & Mango.

Taste- A fuller DIPA. More like the nose and retains a large creamy and dense flavor. A bit thicker than S&S and a bit more bitter vs. bright. The aroma flavors carry over to the flavor with the citrus. Pineapple & Mango. A bit hoppier and a good balance.

Mouth- A large medium body with a deep medium carbonation. A big creamy hops with dank and deep citrus hops on the residual flavors. Zest and mangos on the finish.

Drink- I will say this one is better than Ephraim. More deep citrus flavors and a bit more creamy hops. Really a bit in the middle of the other DIPAs from HF. I would say others should rang higher.

I'll skip to the review of taste, as the others all take care of aroma and appearance.

Taste - A little different than I was expecting based on the description and other reviews. To me, this beer had some citrus aspects, such as bitter grapefruit peel, but the flavor was mostly dominated by the pine. Not my favorite flavor profile.

Overall - This is a very solid DIPA, and I enjoyed it. However, I enjoyed a number of the other HF hoppy beers I've tried much more. It surprises me greatly that this is the highest rated of the bunch. Glad to have tried it, but certainly not one I would seek out again.

On tap at the Blackback Pub in Waterbury, VT. Served into a Hill Farmstead snifter.

A - Clear golden body with a bit of a white head. Sticky lacing in top, but not a lot of it.

S - Wow, hops. A great citrus hop aroma, backed up by a hint of sweetness. Smells pretty damn good.

T - A lot like the smell, but in three distinct stages. An initial great citrus hop flavor, but it seems to be gone by the time I get the taste of the malt. Caramel malt and a bit of sweetness, almost independent of the hops. Then the malt sweetness fades, yielding a bitterness in the finish. None of the flavors seem to flow together.

M - The odd distinction of flavors takes away. It makes it feel thick at points and thin at others. Strange.

O - I had this right after indulging in some Heady Topper, so poor Abner never stood a chance. It's good, but not up with the best DIPAs.

On tap at The Blackback Pub in Waterbury, VT. 10-12 oz. pour into a Hill Farmstead longstem snifter. Cloudy pale gold color, and the beer was very cold. Head faded quickly but decent lacing. Nose is tropical/citrus with very little bitterness. At first sight and smell, I am curious as to how old this keg is. The last time I was in this establishment was late April, when I tried HF Double Galaxy. I have to say the Abner was delicious but not as impressive overall as the Double Galaxy. I am still very impressed by Hill Farmstead; I just think this keg was a bit aged and muted for a highly rated DIPA.

Very hazy amber colored with an off white medium sized head. Aroma is big on weed/pine and would have been a 5/5 had it not been the hint of spicy hop character I'm getting. Tastes hoppy and bitter (duh) with a solid malt base and but drinks very easy. Some onion/garlic comes as a turn off. Smooth feel, slightly sweet taste and finish, medium carbonation. Very good and signature HF.

Rust colored with an extremely cloudy, turbid body. Looks like the dry hops didn't settle out very well in this one. I don't mind a cloudy beer, but this is pretty murky stuff.

The nose more than makes up for the appearance. This is pretty dank, resiny stuff. Tropical fruit meets bitter grapefruit. A bit catty too, which I don't mind, and a very faint bready malt foundation.

As I've come to expect from HFS, this has a huge resiny hop bite. Very bitter and dry, though it avoids tasting astringent, and the big fruity hop flavors do a great job of balancing the bitterness. There's a dry malt backbone here that does actually provide some body and heft, though it isn't a sweet beer at all. The mouthfeel suffers a bit from all the sediment - it has a slightly chalky texture. Overall it's very enjoyable, but not as impressive as Ephraim.

Aroma: Very fruity and hoppy. It has a nice mango and pineapple profile up front with a bit of grapefruit in the background. It is also very hoppy. I get a lot of pine with some floral notes as well. No malts... Oh yea!

Taste: The east coast is finally starting to pump out some good DIPAs. This has west coast flavors written all over it. All hops, no malts. Very bitter. Floral and piney. Pineapple, mangoes, and oranges all show with a touch of grapefruit citrus. Nice.

Mouthfeel: Bitter and bitter. This dipa is more bitter than a lot, but the fruits provided some sweetness to help it out. Medium bodied with a good amount of carbonation. Ends dry and sticky.

Overall, this is a great dipa. I am really enjoying all the hops and fruits and I love that it isn't malty. I thought I might be able to get through the entire growler, but I can feel the alcohol hit as I look and realize I am barely at the half way point. Still, I really like it and a couple pints is pretty easy to take down.

On tap @ HF anniversary. Hazy orangey gold pour with white head. Juicy hop aroma, very potent aromas of centennial along with a whole variety of other stuff I imagine. Taste is hoppy, with a light honey twist. Very refreshing palate, dry but not abusively so. EVery good IIPA

Served out of a freshly filled (9/20/14) Hill Farmstead 750ml growler and into a HF stemmed glass.

L) Pours a hazy, tawny/orange with a average size white head. S) Smells of beautiful hops and a bit of yeast thrown in there. I prefer mine a bit more citrusy, but this is still an amazing beer.T) This is a well balance DIPA. Not too bitter and not too malty. Again, I would like a bit more citrus, but I'm just nit picking.F) Nice. A bit dry. O) Not going to lie, this did not live up 100% to my expectations. When drinking DIPA's I have to compare to MBC Dinner, which I thought was spectacular. Would I drink it again, yes, but I would not go out of my way to acquire again.